Finding My Campervan!

Once I reached Toronto, it was all about finding the campervan that would take me around Australia! I had been researching vans for about a year prior to my arrival and had a list of desired attributes ready to go. Here was my list of "must haves":

• Backup camera (or have one installed)

• Bike rack (or have one installed)

• Porta-potty (or have one installed)

• Ideally, less than 20ft long

• Ideally, the van is less than 10 years old

• Solar panels

• Large water tank

• Awning (or have one installed)

• Windows that open in back/some type of air circulation

I found my van after just 72 hours in Toronto and REALLY love the pop-top feature as I've been in other vans before that didn't have good air circulation and felt like I was in an oven. Vinnie (which is what the prior owners named the van and I love too so I'm keeping the name) needed some other upgrades before hitting the road to help me be able to go off-grid and be more self-sufficient. This is where my mate Chris stepped in and helped me figure out what the van needed and then he generously donated his time and expertise to helping kit out Vinnie! This included adding a fixed solar panel on top of the van, upgrading the leisure battery to a deep cycle lithium battery, adding a DCDC charger as well as 1000w inverter so I can charge my laptop and run a small toaster oven and electric kettle. I bought all of the electronics, etc. from a place called Kings which runs a set of daily deals so the game is to wake up each morning to see if what you need is on sale and then to buy it when it is and go pick it up.

Here are some of the pics of Chris's work:

And here's one of the ways my Aussie mechanic likes to get paid:

This work took more than 7 days...Meanwhile, I was busy trying to figure out what kind of a bike rack would work on Vinnie as I need to be able to get into the back of my van daily and it was going to get old really fast having to unload the bike, etc. I found a great bike rack that's built like a tank from Rockymounts that swings away and is pretty easy to use...I also chased down a small Sirocco fan and reverse camera that Chris again so graciously installed for me! What a mate!

As all of this was happening, I was also chasing down what I needed to build a kitchen, linens for the bed, registering the vehicle in my name, getting an Australian driver's license (need one if you'll be here more than 6 months driving around - and they didn't even make me review the rules of the road before giving me one!), etc., etc., etc. I also managed to find a bike route/ride I liked and would typically get up first thing in the morning and go on a ride before it got too hot...